Latham and Watkins advises commercial lenders, K-EXIM and K-SURE, on Jeddah South Power Plant Project for Saudi Electricity Company

December 31, 2013 5:35 am

Latham & Watkins has advised the commercial lenders, The Export-Import Bank of Korea (K-EXIM) and Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-SURE), in connection with a $1.6bn facility for Saudi Electricity Company to finance a new oil-fired 2,640MW power plant in Jeddah South in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The deal, which signed on 19 December 2013, is the largest export credit agency facility ever in the MENA region.

The facility will be used to finance eligible goods and services provided under the lump sum turnkey contract between Saudi Electricity Company and Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd, the sole EPC Contractor with responsibility for engineering, procurement, construction, testing and commissioning of the project. Based on the Red Sea coast, approximately 35 km to the south of Jeddah and 135 km north of Jazan, the project is scheduled to be completed by late 2016.

The project includes $1.6bn of financing provided by way of a direct loan from KEXIM together with K-EXIM and K-SURE covered facilities provided by the commercial lenders. The commercial banks involved in the financing are HSBC Bank plc, London (as Coordinating Arranger, Joint Structuring Bank and Mandated Lead Arranger), The Bank of Tokyo – Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (as Joint Structuring Bank and Mandated Lead Arranger) and Mizuho Bank Ltd., Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Brussels Branch, KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH and Deutsche Bank AG, Hong Kong Branch (each as Mandated Lead Arrangers).

Partner Craig Nethercott, who led the Latham & Watkins team, commented: “The Jeddah South project will add significant additional generating capacity to the Saudi Arabian grid and we are extremely proud to have supported SEC and the lenders in this project.”

The Latham & Watkins team was led by partner Craig Nethercott in London with assistance from counsel Sungjin Kang in Hong Kong and associate Peter Norris in Dubai. Allen and Overy advised SEC led by Partner Atif Hanif and associate Peter Mailer in London.

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